Who learns life lessons from eating cai png? Well, this 2020 class valedictorian surely did!
A TikTok video recently uploaded by the 2020 class valedictorian of the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) gave his speech inspired by eating cai png.
Jacob Lau, who graduated with a Bachelor of Hospitality Business, expressed his love for cai png to the next level by using it to cap off his college journey.
With his experience eating cai png, Jacob outlined his valedictorian speech along with his reminders and advice to his fellow graduates.
He gave emphasised three life lessons:
1. There is always someone getting more rice than you
“One day, when I was in the queue [for cai png], my anticipation grew as I saw people in front of me getting mountains of rice. However, to my disappointment, I only had half the portion of rice as compared to the person before me.”
Jacob’s first piece of advice is not to compare yourself with others.
Do not fall into the idea of everything should be equal.
“There will always be someone getting more rice than you,” Jacob added.
Comparing yourself with others can make you envious and may not allow you to appreciate what you presently have.
“So stop comparing, just do your best and be happy with what you have”.
2. What dishes are available and what do you want?
“We need to know which dishes are available and what we like to eat. When we step into the workforce, there are things that we love to do and things that we know are just not for us.”
After the first lesson, Jacob moved on to say that you should know yourself and learn to discover the path you want.
While we are always adamant about our dietary preferences, we need to bring the same attitude to our careers.
“Passion precedes everything,” the valedictorian added.
3. There is limited space on your plate; choose wisely.
Jacob’s final and “most important” cai png-inspired advice was to not overload yourself and choose a balanced life.
“There is limited space on my plate. If I order all the ingredients I like, the food may fall out from the plate.
Similarly, when we enter the workforce, do not be driven by money and overload yourself with work and forsake the joys of life.”
